Flash Fanfiction - Episode 17 - The Scarecrow
by Reign Atkins
Summary: Its Halloween and while Cisco has a horror movie marathon planned, one of Gotham City's criminals (The Scarecrow) is in town wreaking havoc and causing horrific hallucinations. The group need to establish what is real and what is fake and bring him down.
1. Chapter 1

It was the 31st of October. Two weeks after the group had arrived back from Gotham City and precisely one week after Ronnie's funeral, Caitlin had been devoting her time to her work, minus the weekend she had spent returning Kara home to her foster family. As she checked on Barry, who was still in his coma, Cisco came in late for work. "So, You're late! You're never late, and where is Astrid?" Caitlin asked.

Cisco shrugged. "It's Halloween and I have been busy prepping my movie list for tonight! I think she went off with Sara, how's Barry?" he asked changing the subject.

"His situation hasn't changed since last night. but at least he's stable. I'm just glad our doctors here are sworn to confidentiality, or we'd be having a field day with the press giving up Barry's secret. I suppose that it's a lucky thing we have Sara and Frost to stand in for the Flash."

"Yeah well, I just wish that I had some cool powers that went beyond visions…" He replied as he began tinkering on a new gadget.

Suddenly, Sara Lance and Astrid entered the room. "You're good, Sutherland… But I have become the better warrior out of the both of us." Sara was cocky as she addressed her friend. The two of them had been sparring on the lower training floor.

"…and to think… It only took you TEN years to get the upper hand… Besides, you never told me where you learnt your training? Was it Lian Yu, like Ollie? Or some sexy secret boyfriend that you never cared to mention?" Astrid asked as she and Sara placed their swords on the table next to Cisco.

"Something like that." Sara said as she slumped on the chair and drank her water.  
"I will be waiting for a tell-all… whenever you're ready… Here's hoping soon, as it has been far too long!"

"Such a shrink!" Sara grinned. "You want me to sit on your couch, doc, and tell you all my problems? Is that it? Well, it's not going to happen!"

"I'm a criminal psychologist… was a criminal psychologist, not a counsellor or a personal therapist… But just saying… anytime, I'm there if you need me. There's definitely something going on, and I'm not going to read your mind to get it out of you."

"Good… leave me to my privacy, besides I think if anyone needs to see a shrink… It would have to be Cisco…" Sara laughed pointing at him, "He's the perfect embodiment of a mad inventor right there…"

"I would argue," Cisco said, "but I just can't… I'm one thunderstorm away from creating Frankenstein's monster. But hey, Its Halloween… anything could happen!"

"Wasn't Frankenstein the monster?" Sara asked.

"No, No, No!" Caitlin interrupted, "Don't get him started on the movie stuff… We'll never hear the end of it!"

"Hey, Caitlin…" Astrid said quietly to her friend, as Cisco began to talk Sara's ear off about horror movies, "How are you doing? We haven't spoken much since Ronnie's funeral. Do you need to talk?"

"Not at the moment. But if I need to, I know where you are." Caitlin answered.

"Good. And if you need to go home, at any time. I don't want to be keeping you here. Take all the time you need."

"Astrid – I'm fine! I promise. Besides, watching over Barry gets my mind off things." Caitlin said, as she checked Barry's pulse again. "It took me a while to send Felicity home. She wouldn't leave until I promised to update her once Barry awoke. I didn't even realize that the two of them were seeing each other."

"That makes two of us… Apparently they had a moment back in Gotham City. Diggle caught them." Caitlin laughed, and Astrid made her way into her office.

"Yo, Caitlin! Will you come to my little Halloween movie marathon tonight? Sara said that it sounds lame." Cisco called out.

"It is lame, Cisco. Every year you and Astrid pick the same movies and…" Caitlin began.  
"…mouth all the dialogue! Yeah! I've seen it too!" Sara finished. "You should have seen them in high school! The minute them two met, I knew it would cause trouble… He converted her… Did you know that she isn't even a true brunette?"

"Really?" Caitlin asked, truly intrigued. Sara approached her at Barry's bedside.  
"Yeah, her natural color is blonde, but she hates the way it looks. The two of us were like sisters… but then I dared her to go and kiss him… well, Dante because he was better looking and… then they had chemistry together… I mean chemistry as in the class… not that the two of them don't have that weird awkward tension, permanently... All of a sudden she has a new found fondness for nerds."

Caitlin nodded, "Well then, I guess I should thank you. I'm a big nerd. I was one of the girls that the others would put gum in my hair for getting all the answers correct."

"…and we would have been the ones with the gum… I don't think we ever really introduced ourselves… I'm Sara." Sara said, putting out a hand for Caitlin to shake.

"I'm Caitlin… Dr Caitlin Snow… But Caitlin… and you already know Barry and Cis… hey where did he go anyway?" she asked, shaking the girls hand and then looking around the office.

Cisco had joined Astrid in her office and had locked the door behind him. The two were wrapped in each other's arms, locked in a passionate kiss.

When they finally parted, Cisco asked. "When are we going to tell everybody? I just want to announce to everyone that you and I are FINALLY together!"

Her lips brushed his softly, as she spoke, "I want to too, but think about it. Now is far from being the right time. Caitlin just lost Ronnie and Barry is in a coma. But until then… the sneaking around part is so much fun. Wouldn't you agree?"

He leant her against the desk, and spoke between kisses, "Ok, it's a little cool. And exciting. And fun. And…"

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, making them part. Cisco sat in the chair, while Astrid opened the door. It was Caitlin.

"Hey, Astrid… Joe just called he needs to speak with you – something about an old criminal by the name of Jonathan Crane, that you interviewed during your time at CCPD? He also wants to come by and check on Barry's progress. He should be here in half an hour."


	2. Chapter 2

Joe stopped by and checked on Barry immediately. "Has there been any progress, Caitlin?"  
"Barry's vitals are all relatively stable so there is no reason why he shouldn't wake up. His body is recovering, It's just much slower than usual. If it were any other patient he would have been killed, but it was Barry so it's going to take a little more time, but he will be on his feet running again soon."

Cisco laughed at Caitlin's attempt at humor.

"I still can't wrap my head around it all. He was hit by a laser that shot forth from a young child's eyes… Man, the things that you kids face… It's just…"

"Sounds impossible?" Astrid asked, "I wouldn't have believed it, if I hadn't have seen it myself. So what was this about Jonathan Crane? I thought he was one of Gotham City's crooks. Why would he be of any concern to CCPD?"

"An extensive list was carried out with many of the practitioners who were involved in Gotham City's meta-human fight tournaments. His name may have been on that list, and a man matching his description was seen around town, with people acting erratically." Joe explained.

"Are we talking about another Rainbow Raider?" Caitlin asked, curious.

"Rainbow Raider?" Sara asked, raising her eyebrows at the hilarious name.

"I thought Jonathan Crane was in prison…" Astrid said with a horrified look on her face.

"The answer to both your questions is a big 'no'. Turns out he has friends in GCPD who bent the rules and broke him out. And he isn't a meta-human like Roy Bivolo." Joe explained.

"Meta-human or not…" Astrid added, "He isn't someone we want in Central City. Especially during Halloween. That man is scary! He even nicknamed himself the Scarecrow. He invented a poison that makes people experience horrifying hallucinations. When I met with him… it reminded me of that creepy scene from Silence of the Lambs! Where Clarice meets Hannibal in his cell." A shiver crept down her spine as she remembered it.

Cisco crept behind her and whispered in her ear, mimicking Hannibal Lecter's tone "Good morning Astrid!" So she pushed him hard.

"Go away, Cisco! Don't do that again! This isn't a laughing matter!" she warned him. "Joe, I'll find you his files now. I won't feel safe knowing that he could be around town." She left to go through her cabinets.

"He nicknamed himself the Scarecrow and he creeps her out… That gives me some ideas for this year's Halloween movie marathon. Bye-bye clowns!" Cisco said with a laugh.

"Well if you saw the way he dressed you'd understand why he goes by the name of Scarecrow…" Joe replied.

When Astrid returned with a file in her hands, she handed it to Joe, who opened it and looked inside. "Here he is, Cisco." Joe said, showing them a picture of Jonathan Crane in his iconic mask.

"Yeah, I normally don't approve of villains giving themselves nicknames, but Scarecrow fits perfectly!" Cisco replied.

"I can see why this man gives Astrid the creeps." Caitlin added. She too felt frightened by the look of the man.

"Well, if he is around, we'll find him…" Sara replied.

"I'm sorry… who are you?" Joe asked.

"This delightful girl, goes by the name of Sara Lance!" Cisco introduced him, "she's an old school friend of ours!"

"Hey, you and I were never friends!" Sara corrected.

"See? Delightful as always!"

"Thanks for these, Astrid. I'll hand them over to Captain Singh as soon as possible. I think that the old ones were ruined in the meteor shower. I'm just relieved that you saved all the copies." Joe took the file, checked on Barry again and then said 'goodbye' to the group, making his way back to CCPD.

Just as he had left, the next group of doctors arrived on to the floor to check on Barry. Caitlin assisted the doctors as they worked on him. While Cisco, Astrid and Sara stayed back. "Cisco, I don't think Caitlin will be joining us for your movie marathon tonight." Astrid said, noting the look on Caitlin's face. She was owning the room, protecting Barry as if he were Ronnie.

"What do you mean?" Cisco asked.

"She's deflecting her feelings for Ronnie onto Barry. Has she even left his bedside since she has been back?"

"No, I don't think she has." Cisco said, noting how right she was, "well, that's ok. We can move the marathon to your boardroom and we can all take shifts to check on him, that girl needs to relax. Sara… you like to drink… You can supply the booze!"

Sara scoffed at him, "some things never change, do they. I'll be back later." She left abruptly.

"Now look what you've gone and done! I wish that you two of you just get along!" Astrid told him.

They jumped at the sound of the alarms on Barry's monitor's beeping loudly. "That's not good!" Cisco said as they ran over to watch.

"We're losing him!" Caitlin cried out. She climbed on top of Barry's bed and begun delivering CPR.  
"Barry come on! Come on!" she said softly

Astrid concentrated her mind link to Barry's conscious. It would only work if he was reaching out to her. mentally. 'Barry. Can you hear me?' she called.

'Astrid. Are you there. I think I'm lost!' She heard Barry's voice in his mind.

'Whatever you do, don't go to the light. You're in a coma. We can't lose you.'

'I'm in a coma? How did this happen?'

'Long story. I'll tell you when you wake up. What do you see?'

'Nothing? It's just grey… Like whirling energy all around me. I can't explain it.'

'Well, right now we need you to get better. Just focus on that and don't worry about Central City. We're handling it… and Barry, remember! don't walk into the light!' Astrid ended the mind link, and watched as Caitlin climbed back off the bed.

"He's stable!" She called out. Astrid rested her head on Cisco's shoulder. "I spoke to him." She whispered. "You what? My Jedi girl can talk to coma people now? I wish we knew that earlier. So what did he say?"

"He can't explain where he is. There is some sort of grey whirling energy all around him…"

"Well, wherever he is… I hope you told him not to walk into the light."

As the doctors busily worked on Barry, one doctor in particular, subtly injected a small canister into the speedster's IV. The small glass jar contained a particular poison to invoke fears and nightmares.


	3. Chapter 3

"Lights!... Camera… Action!" Cisco said as he controlled the boardroom's lights and projector from the screen on his handheld tablet. The movie was set to play on the boardroom's large projector screen, along with the surround sound. It was just after eight at night.

He, Astrid, Sara and Caitlin sat in their chairs with their eyes on the screen and popcorn and beverages with straws on the tables before them – set up like a mini cinema.  
"Really, Cisco? Scarecrow?" Astrid asked in disbelief. He revealed one of his smiles, making her roll her eyes.

"I'm going to go and check on Barry." Caitlin said.  
"The movie's barely just begun, Cait!" Cisco said, a little hurt.

"I'm really not in the mood for a movie, especially after what happened today. I don't want to risk losing someone else…" she stood up, and Astrid went to join her.

"Astrid, please. I hope you don't mind… But I want to go by myself. I need some time out."

"Ok Cait. Just let me know if you need anything." Astrid replied softly, as she sat back down in between Cisco and Sara.

"I will, thanks." And with that Caitlin made her way out of the room and down the hall, heading towards the elevator.

As she entered the elevator and pressed the button to head to the 97th floor, she thought that she saw the lights flicker, though she thought nothing of it.

"Wow, is your friend Caitlin always like that?" Sara asked.  
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked, as she took a handful of popcorn.  
"Well, she is clearly having problems dealing with the death of her husband and she just wants to push everybody away." Sara said as she too helped herself to some popcorn.

"Yeah, that's Caitlin. We normally give her space and she'll talk with us when she feels ready."  
"Or she could turn into Frost and go on a rebellious streak… Can we just get back to the movie?" Cisco asked, having a mouthful of popcorn, but not removing his eyes from the screen.

"Really?" Sara asked excited, "I liked that version of Caitlin… She can really kick some serious ass… and she's kinda hot!"

This time both Astrid and Cisco turned to her, with their mouths wide open.  
"Er, Sara?" Astrid said, "Do you mean that in a 'I admire the girl' sort of way, or a 'I'm kind of into her' sort of way? Because, as much as I would be in favor of that… Caitlin's husband just died and… you… well… you used to be seriously into men. What changed?"

"I mean it in both ways… and I met a girl who well… kinda changed my life in a serious way. But she died… and just because you only ever saw me dating guys, didn't mean I wasn't into girls too." Sara said, having a sip of her beer.

"Wow, I didn't realize, I'm sorry…" Astrid replied.

"It's fine…" Sara began.

"…Ok, as much as me being the only guy in this room, listening to two girls having this conversation might be a little fantasy… I'm actually trying to watch this movie… so can we postpone it until later?" Cisco asked them.

Astrid and Sara smirked. "So, who was this girl?" Astrid asked.  
"She was an amazing fighter. Her father took me in and trained me. They found me clinging to life on an old inflatable raft that was losing air very quickly." Sara said.

Cisco paused the movie, "You guys do this now? Really?" he snapped.

"Alright, we'll stop." Astrid pouted sweetly, which made him smile. He pressed play on the movie.

"What was that?" Sara asked them.

"What was what?" they both asked in unison.

"What I just saw between the two of you… That wasn't just harmless flirting… You two are actually together, and I really doubt that anyone else around here knows." Sara said.

"Ok, you're right." Astrid said, "We are, but if you breathe a word to anyone…"

Sara smiled again, "I'm not afraid of you… but if the two of you want to keep your little secret… A word of advice, Secrets are easier to keep if they are hidden better! I won't tell anyone. It's good to see the two of you are happy."

"Hello?" Caitlin called out from in the elevator, which had stopped and was not opening. She tried checking her phone but she wasn't receiving any service. She felt the elevator jolt, which shook her a little. She called out again and suddenly, the doors were open.

Ronnie was standing there. He had opened the doors for her. "Ronnie!" Caitlin gasped. "I watched you die, how is this possible?"

"Shh Caitlin. It's ok!" Ronnie said, "I'm here." He wiped away her tears and feeling his thumb on her cheek, she melted into his arms. "Ronnie. I can't believe it's you!"

He helped her to her feet and led her out of the elevator. The rooms were dark around them, despite the dim glare of the downlights.

Caitlin couldn't keep her eyes off of him. At last they came to the dim light over Barry's bed.  
She checked his vitals, but as she did she kept a watchful eye on Ronnie.

How was this happening? How could he be alive and be here with her? She had seen him die.

Caitlin looked down at Barry, he was still sleeping peacefully. His vitals were stable.  
"Do you love Barry?" Ronnie asked her.

"I'm sorry. What?" she asked him, shocked.

"I said it's too bad about Barry." He replied.

"Oh, ok." She had heard him the first time, but things were still not making sense. Suddenly, she noticed a flame burning behind him. Ronnie was on fire. "Help me, Caitlin!" he cried.

She ran to her medical bay to get a bucket of water and was met by even more flames. The entire floor was burning. "Ronnie!" she called out. "We need to get you and Barry to safety!" But as she looked up, Ronnie was gone. It was just she and Barry left in the burning room, with nowhere to go.

How did the fire start so suddenly? She screamed out for help and grabbed Barry's bed leading him towards the elevator. She pressed repeatedly on the call button, but the elevator wasn't working.

She was afraid, she willed Frost to emerge, but she didn't. It was as if there was something stopping her from using her powers. "Come on, Frost! Please!"

She watched as the flames came closer and closer and feared that there was nothing that she could do. She sobbed over Barry's body.


	4. Chapter 4

"Caitlin's been a while. Maybe I should go and check on her." Astrid said, as she looked at her phone, and Cisco set up the next movie.

"No, allow me." Sara said standing up, "I don't think that I can really stand another sickening display of cheesy romance and bad scripting… along with the poor choice for horror movies."

"Ouch!" Cisco said offended.

"You're welcome." Sara replied with a smile as she left the room.

"You know… this is how it happens in the movies…" Cisco said, "There's a psychopath on the loose, the friends are watching horror movies and one by one they all disappear…"

"Not to mention we have one of our friends already in a coma… I think we beat them to the punch!"

"Beat who to the punch? The movie writers?"

"Yeah!" Astrid said with a smile. "But we are missing one thing…"

"What's that? Twizzlers? I can't believe we ran out! Those greedy Trick 'or 'Treaters earlier…"

"Nope… The make-out scene." She said with a grin.

"You want to make-out now? Now that the Ring is starting?" he asked a little confused.

"Are you refusing?"

"Hell no! …but let me just press pause, first!" he said. He pressed the icon on his tablet to freeze the movie and then leant over to kiss her.

Sara traced down the hallway, bypassed the elevator and headed towards the stairwell. As she pushed open the door, it made a screeching sound. She flicked on the green dim lights and darted up the stairs. As she listened to her feet pounding up the steps, she could have sworn that she had heard an extra pair of footsteps coming up behind her. She stopped and turned around, but there was no one there. The footsteps had stopped, so she continued on her way.

But then she heard them again. She clutched the small dagger that she kept hidden inside her boot and got to the next floor up. She opened the door, though she didn't step through it. She waited behind the wall and listened.

She knew that she had not imagined them that time. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. But as she waited and listened, she heard them. This time they climbed the stairs slowly. There was no mistake, they sounded like the boots of a woman. She was sure that she hadn't been followed.

But as they came closer and closer, she peered down the stairs. There was no one there. Suddenly, she felt the stab of a blade being pointed at her throat and the heat of another's breath on her ear.

"Hello, lover!" she knew that voice.  
"Nyssa!" Sara said angrily, "You should be dead!" In one swift moment she turned, countered Nyssa's attack, taking her blade from her and held it to her throat and her other blade, she pointed at Nyssa's stomach.

"Well, as you can see. I'm not. No thanks to you…" Nyssa spat angrily.

"How are you even alive? They made me kill you!" Sara said angrily.

"What can I say? My father didn't raise no fool. Aren't you at least happy to see me, Sara? Or have you turned your back on me, along with the league?"

"I believed you were dead. If I had known that you were alive, I would have left Gotham City in a heartbeat." Sara removed her blades, once she considered that Nyssa was not a threat.

"So why did you leave? Because your friends came and saved you? You can't go back to the way you once were. Besides, once the League find that we're both alive, you know they will come hunting us. They will kill all those around you, and you know it. But I think they will start in STAR City first… Don't your family still live there?"

"You need to leave, now!" Sara snapped, "It's dangerous for everybody if you're here."

"I knew that it would be this way…" Nyssa replied, and in one swift moment, she pulled out a pistol and shot Sara.

As Caitlin sobbed over Barry, she looked up to find that the fire had disappeared. The lights were on, there was no trace that the fire had even occurred. Was it possible that she had hallucinated the whole thing? She pushed his bed back over to her medical bay and checked his vitals again.

Meanwhile, Barry's mind was in an endless loop. The serum that had been injected into his bloodstream had caused him to witness his mother's death over and over again. Though, he was the man he was now, sitting in his living room. His body was paralyzed. He was but a ghost in a shell watching the Reverse Flash kill Nora Allen.

Suddenly the image around him changed. He woke up. Caitlin was sitting beside him checking his vitals. "Barry. You're alive!" she exclaimed, excitedly.

"Yeah, what's going on? What happened to me? All I remember is the tournaments. Kara? Is she ok?"

"Kara's fine, Barry… I'm just glad to see that you're okay!" she assured him.

A doctor entered the room and stood beside Caitlin. But then Barry realized that it wasn't just any ordinary doctor. "Eobard Thawne! Caitlin, you need to run! Now!" Barry tried to get up, only to realize that he had been restrained to the bed. He couldn't get up.

"Shh… Barry, you need to rest!" Caitlin said calmly.

Eobard picked up a syringe and stabbed it into Caitlin's neck. She fell to the floor in an instant. "No!" Barry yelled, as he tried to break free, "What are you doing? I will kill you! Caitlin! Caitlin Wake up!" Eobard left before his eyes, leaving Caitlin's body on the ground. Barry screamed out for his friends, though no one came for him.


	5. Chapter 5

Cisco and Astrid's make out session was interrupted by her phone ringing. "I have to answer it." she said. "No, let it ring!" Cisco said, holding her close and kissing her again.

"I can't… It could be an emergency." She climbed off his lap and picked up her phone. "Yep… clearly an emergency…It's Joe." She answered the phone and mouthed an apology, while Cisco pressed play on the movie, annoyed.

"Hi Joe. What's the problem?"

"Astrid, please tell me that you guys are all at STAR Labs, right now." Joe sounded like he was in a rush.  
"Yeah, we're just watching movies. Why's that?"

"Ok, I'm on my way. Jonathan Crane has been releasing his poison toxins throughout the city. We have a crisis on our hands. Many of the officers have been affected. I need your team to come up with some sort of drug to counteract its effects, immediately." Joe said.

"Alright, I'll go get Caitlin to see what she can do and then I'll let you in to the facility." She ended the call and went to rush out of the room.

"What's happening?" Cisco asked, getting to his feet.

"The Scarecrow is on the loose… causing scary hallucinations… and I need to get Caitlin to come up with some sort of vaccine to counter the effects of his hallucination drug." She told him.

"This is just how it always happens… Just like in the movies. You know that we should be going out there together. Something bad is bound to happen!" Cisco said.

"You know that's one of the things that I lo… admire about you… your keen sense of imagination…"

"Woah, Careful Jedi… don't get too muddled up with your words, It'd be a shame to think you actually have emotions… But seriously, do you need me to go with you?" he asked

"Cisco… If I can cause a 3ton gorilla to suffer a brain aneurism, just by using my mind… I'm pretty sure that I'll be fine. Or are you more afraid of being left all alone… in the dark… with your horror movies?"

"Pfft, girl. I'm fine. At least I might be able to get through one movie without any distractions…even if they are as beautiful as you…" His comment made her smile. But as she turned to leave, she added, "Watch that charm, Casanova… The girl Samara might just come out of the screen and come after you, next."

He smirked at her comment. 'Now that is impossible!' he said as he saw the scene on the movie the Ring, that she was referring to. As he focused on the screen, he had to shoo away a fly that buzzed by his face. But then he realized that it wasn't really a fly, but a bee.

He jumped up from his seat in a panic, waving his hand at it. "Shoo! Shoo!" Then he saw another. Suddenly, bees begun swarming in from every direction, he ran towards the door, but it closed in front of him and wouldn't open. He flicked the lights on to see the room swarming with bees, just as something caught his eye on the screen.

"What the hell?" he gasped, with his eyes and mouth wide open.

Just as the long haired girl had climbed out of the television in the movie, she had begun climbing out of the projector screen and into the boardroom… She was coming towards him. "That's not creepy at all!" he spoke with sarcasm, full of fear.

Sara opened her eyes. She was lying on the floor in the stairwell. She hadn't really been shot, there were no bullet wounds, just a nasty bruise to her head. "Nyssa?" She called out. What had just happened? Had she envisioned everything? She thought back to the psychopath on the loose, that the detective had warned them about. But that would mean that he would have released some sort of toxin about the place. How would he have even gotten in? She felt around for her daggers. They were both gone.

Even if Nyssa hadn't been there, someone had certainly taken her weapons. But fortunately, Sara Lance didn't need weapons to fight… She was a weapon.

Astrid had attempted to call the elevator, but unfortunately it wasn't working. As she was about to make her way towards the stairwell, she heard a screeching noise down the next corridor. The sound of metal scraping along the tiled floor.

She bypassed the elevator and walked down the hallway. The lights switched off all around her. She used her mind scan to determine the one responsible. She couldn't get a reading.

"Hello?" she called out. "Cisco, if that's you, it's really not funny!" she turned the corner and entered the laboratory to the left of her. She could see a silhouette in the darkness. She found the light switch and flicked the button, though the lights didn't turn on.

"Who is that?" she asked the silhouette. He seemed to be carrying a weapon of some sort.  
"Astrid Sutherland. Again we meet…" she knew the voice, it sent a shiver down her spine.

"Jonathan Crane. What are you doing here?" She asked boldly. She tried to read his mind. This time she got a reading. His thoughts tormented her so she closed the link immediately.

"I merely wanted to meet the ones responsible for putting a stop to the tournaments in Gotham City."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She lied.

"Ah… but you do… When I heard the commentator call out your name, and the names of your associates, I merely remembered the quaint conversation that you and I had once. You fear me." Suddenly, the lights all around them flickered on.

She had to adjust her eyes, but she saw him. He was wearing his full brown mask, a green shirt and some faded grey pants. "I don't fear you. You're just a man. Regardless, why do you want to meet with us?" she asked him. She reached into her pocket and pressed the emergency alert on her phone.

"I merely want to show you a few things… just as I promised last time we spoke. Do you remember when I told you that fear acts as a powerful motivator? I want to prove to you that theory. I have injected my toxins into your air vents. Your friends are all currently living their own worst nightmares… and they are only about to get much worse."

"Well then, shouldn't I be seeing clowns? Or cannibals? Or big spiders? It's clearly not working on me…"

"No, your fears are merely rational. You fear me because you know what I am capable of doing… My toxins can bring out the insanity of any man."

"Astrid?" Sara's voice came from behind her, making her turn around.

"Who were you talking to?" Sara asked her. Astrid looked back towards Jonathan Crane. But he was no longer there. "Sara… there is something seriously wrong going on around here. Jonathan Crane is in the building."

"Yeah, I know. Everyone is hallucinating their own worst fears." Sara replied.

"How do you know. What did you see?"

"Never mind that now. We need to work out a way to stop him."

"Joe is on his way here. We need to get Caitlin to create an antitoxin." Astrid informed her friend.

"Ok, well while you go and open the door for Joe… I'll go send word to Caitlin." Sara said as she turned her back on Astrid. As Astrid went to leave, Sara picked up a scalpel from the desk and stabbed Astrid into the stomach and left her on the floor to bleed out.


	6. Chapter 6

Cisco banged on the door loudly and rattled the handle, as he watched the creepy Samara, moving towards him, amidst the swarm of bees. "You guys! You can let me out now… I get it, Happy Halloween Cisco! Haha! Very Funny! You guys? Astrid? Caitlin?... Sara?"

His visitor dripped water over the carpet, her dark wet hair hanging low down her face. She continued to move closer to him, in a creepy contortionist way. Tears welled up in his eyes. Suddenly his phone began to ring from in his pocket. He fumbled for it. Joe was calling.

"Look, I need to…Never mind!" he told the creepy girl as he answered his phone, "Joe… What the hell is going on? Did the girls tell you about any trick that they had planned? because hey, I'm not scared! I watch horror movies all the…"

"Cisco. Just stop talking!" Joe cut him off, "Where are the girls? Astrid set off an emergency alert and now she's not answering, and I'm waiting down at the entrance, can you let me in?"

"I would… but I'm kind of locked in the boardroom… There is… someone here… she's from the movie."  
"Cisco… Are you hallucinating? You need to shake it off… that means that Jonathan Crane has infiltrated STAR Labs. None of what you're seeing is real!"

Cisco slid down to the floor, his back against the door, the girl's face was inches away from his own. It was cocked to the side. Her scrunched up face and scary eyes bore into his own. She brought her hands up to his throat. He gulped, "Joe... what do I need to do?"

"Don't let your fears get the better of you. Stare it right in the eyes. It's just a hallucination, Cisco."

"Ok, just like a horror movie…" he said quietly. He stared at the girl's face, "It's just a hallucination… just a hallucination… None of this real!" He stared into her creepy eyes, just as she opened her mouth and shrieked.

He didn't blink, just stared waiting for the sight to pass. The bees circled in on his face. At any moment he knew that they could sting him. He could come up with big blisters and even die! But no, he would not move. He would not flinch.

The girl looked at him confused. She cocked her head to the side again. She shrieked again.  
A smile formed over his face. "Boo!" he said.

Then just as he had said it the bees and the girl disappeared before his eyes. He took a breath and heard Joe's voice still talking though the phone. He brought the phone back to his ear. "Joe… It worked! I kicked its ass!"

"Great. Now come let me in!"

"Oh yeah, right! I'm on it!" he got to his feet and turned the door handle. This time it opened.  
He ran through the hallway. He tried to press the elevator button, but the elevator would not come. "Damn thing is always breaking!" he said to himself. He ran down the stairs and kept running. He thought he heard the sound of someone screaming, and he knew that he needed to ignore it. Whatever it was – it was just another hallucination. He kept his eyes to the ground, not looking around once, and when he reached the floor he put both his fingers in his ears. So he wouldn't have to hear anything scary.

At last, he reached the main entrance and saw Astrid standing by the control panel at the door. "Astrid… that joke about the girl coming out of the screen… It wasn't funny… She actually came out of the screen! Now we need to open the door for Joe."

"Cisco, what are you talking about? We're not letting anybody in." she told him.  
Cisco could see Joe standing on the other side of the glass door, waiting for the doors to open. "Astrid, Joe is right there. He even told me that you set off your emergency alert – which you did… see?" he showed her the phone, but she took it from his hands.

"Cisco, I didn't set off any emergency alert. You're hallucinating. Joe isn't really out there. If you open those doors, who knows what you will be letting in." she told him.

"Astrid, don't you remember the conversation that you just had with Joe, right after he interrupted us?"

"Cisco, what the hell are you talking about? What do you mean he interrupted us?"

"Yeah, while we were making out… don't you remember?"

"Cisco, why the hell would you and I be making out? I mean you're sweet and all, but… I guess Barry is a little more my speed…"

Cisco realized that she was right, he was hallucinating. But, in his gut, he knew that she was the hallucination. He needed to outsmart her, though he was thrown a little off guard by what she had said.

Sara found Caitlin checking over Barry's vitals. "Caitlin. Jonathan Crane is in the building. He's playing tricks on everybody!"

Caitlin held up a scalpel "Don't come any closer! How do I know that you're you?"  
"You don't, you just need to trust me! We need an antitoxin. I just found a poor hallucination of Astrid down in the lower labs."

"We were affected up here too." Caitlin said as she moved over to her shelf and picked up a glass beaker. "I've been working on something that might work, but we're going to need to release it into the vents. I think that's what he's been doing with the poisons."

"Do you need me to go up into the roof to release it?" Sara asked.

"Would you? Barry seems to be suffering from the affects too. He started seizing earlier and I injected him with the vaccine. I need to continue monitoring his vitals."

Sara took the beaker, "Is that all we have?" she asked staring at the blue chemical.

"It is so far. I've been working on it for a while now. I just hope it does the trick! I'm working on more as we speak." Sara took the vial and left, leaving Caitlin to her work.

Caitlin had to do a double take as she saw Sara return. "er…Sara… that was fast… where's the antitoxin?"

"What antitoxin?" Sara asked.  
"The one that I just gave you…Unless that wasn't you…" Caitlin's voice trailed off.


	7. Chapter 7

Cisco tried to plan his next move. Astrid wasn't going to move away from the control panel, and Joe was waiting at the doors curious as to what was taking him so long. But what she had just said, although he knew with every ounce of him that it wasn't really her, it hurt him. It was his own mind getting the better of him.

"Hey, Astrid…" Cisco began improvising, when a vision popped into his head. Though once again it felt like a life that he had never lived.

He saw Astrid and himself in combat. Though in this vision he was wearing black leather – as if he had just stepped out of the Matrix movies. "Of course he needs you to protect him." The other version of himself told the girl.

"At least he has friends who won't betray him." Astrid had snapped back.  
"You're right… that's what I need, someone like you." He told her. He had thrown her off guard for her next attack and he was holding her arms behind her back, talking in her ear. But Cisco could still hear what the other version of himself was saying.

"Well maybe you should avoid the guy who wants to commit mass murder on an entire town. Siding with the bad guys never does anyone any favors," she had shot back, just as she had flipped him over and brought her boot to his throat as he lay defenseless on the floor.

But he still tried to bargain his way out, "I might have a better idea. It's clear that your guy Cisco and Gypsy have something going on. Why not forget about him? You and I could go rogue. With our powers, we could be gods, you and I. We could be a team."

"You just don't want me to kill you." Astrid said.  
"If I thought you had it in you, to kill me… I would have made you crumble a long time ago. No, I remind you too much of him. Too much of the one you love. You told me already that you killed the creature that took over your father's body. But this is different, we both know it! Think about it, while that Cisco made you a bracelet to stop you from using your powers… I want you to be free from any restraint. Just think about it, you and me. You only need to read my mind to know that I am not lying."

Cisco watched the brief moment that Astrid considered this guy's proposal, but in the end she still refused, it gave the evil version of himself time to catch her off guard and prepare to make his final blow.

In Cisco's vision he watched as he himself brought up his arms, aiming them at the evil version of himself. Out of nowhere he shot forth a blast of energy at the evil him, and in doing so… He shot at the image of Astrid. She disappeared before his very eyes.

Cisco was bewildered with himself. Where did this power come from? Did he really just do that and what the hell was with his vision? Who was that evil version of himself – this was not the first time that he had seen the man. Cisco knew that he would need his friend's help to determine what was going on.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of Joe knocking on the glass doors. "Oh, that's right! Joe!" Cisco said, remembering where he was and what was happening. He ran to the control panel and unlocked the door.

"Cisco, what was that? You just… whatever you did… it was…" Joe was at a loss for words.  
"I don't know! But we need to figure out how the hell to stop the Scarecrow!" Cisco said, with an added ego boost.

"Let's go find the girls, hopefully Caitlin can come up with something." Joe replied.

"If I'm right, Caitlin will already have something up her sleeve, she's generally pretty quick on the ball that way!" Cisco declared. He ran towards the stairwell, with his hands outstretched, ready to try his awesome new power again, if needed, with Joe close behind.

Astrid had hobbled over to a table filled with bandages. So far, no one had found her. She thought that she had heard Cisco screaming out for help earlier, though she wasn't sure if it was a hallucination or not. She had called out for help but no one had come to her rescue.

As she pressed the bandages to her stomach, she pulled her phone back out and rang the first number on her recent call list. Joe. Thankfully, he answered it.

"Joe, please. It's me! I'm not a hallucination. I'm bleeding out. I need help." she told him where he was and within minutes he and Cisco had arrived.

"Astrid! Who did this? Was it the Scarecrow?" Cisco gasped at her current predicament, as he held the bandages to her stomach.  
"It was Sara. I think. I don't know! But it wasn't just a hallucination. Hallucinations are only trickery of the mind and this… I don't think that I'm imagining this." She said through gasps.

"We need Caitlin to check you out!" Cisco said, "Joe, can you wait here with Astrid? I'll go get Caitlin." Joe agreed and sat with Astrid, while Cisco ran out of the laboratory at full speed.

Astrid thought back to how she had recovered rather quickly in Gotham City. She needed to know if she could do it again. She focused her mind willing herself to heal. As she focused, she felt her energy drain, but the pain was beginning to diminish. She pulled the bandage away from her abdomen. There was less blood now. It must have been working.


	8. Chapter 8

Cisco ran as fast as he could up to level 97, wishing that he had Barry's speed. But at last he finally made it. He found Caitlin and Sara standing next to Barry's bed. Caitlin was creating some sort of chemical.

Sara prepared herself to attack him, "Hold on guys! It's me!" Cisco announced, with his hands at the ready. "Sara, now before you attack me… like you did with Astrid, you guys need to face your fears! We need to work together to create a cure for the hallucinations…"

"We know, Cisco." Caitlin replied, "I'm working on one at the moment."

"Woah! I didn't attack Astrid!" Sara declared, "That must have been the other me."

"Other you? Never mind, Caitlin, she needs medical assistance." Cisco said, but as he noticed his computer, he had an idea. He ran to his desk sent a message to the one person who he knew had dealt with the Scarecrow in the past. He needed advice from Batman.

The message said, 'Bruce, it's Cisco. It seems you may have misplaced one of your villains – the Scarecrow… Any tips on how to stop him would be greatly appreciated!'

"I just sent a message to Batman for advice on how to get this guy! I need to stay back and wait for his reply." He told Caitlin and Sara in a hurry.  
"The antitoxin is complete! I have two batches ready!" Caitlin added.

"Good! Now can you get down to Astrid! I think she is bleeding out! Same floor as the boardroom in the large lab! And Joe needs some of that antitoxin too, Hurry!"

"I'll get the antitoxin into the vents!" Sara said, taking the beaker and leaving immediately.

"I hope that it's really her!" Cisco said to Caitlin who was gathering the first aid kit.

"Yeah, me too, or else I would have just made the same mistake twice!" Caitlin answered.

As she ran towards the stairwell, Cisco gave her some parting advice, "Caitlin… if you see anything that scares you! Pretend it's a movie! Look it right in the eyes, and fight it! Trust me, it works!"

"Thanks!" she shot back as she left.

An alert on Cisco's computer made his eyes light up. Bruce had sent a reply. Cisco knew just what he needed to do to stop the villain.

The answer was in his current project, the newest suit that he had been working on for Gotham city's vigilante. Sure enough, Bruce had no idea that it was being made, but at least Cisco would get to test it out first.

He zipped it up and heard the sounds of someone coming up behind him. It was Jonathan Crane, in his proper form and wearing a brown mask.

"Cisco Ramon. That costume does not fool me."

"Well, that makes two of us… I see past all your hallucinations, Scarecrow!" Cisco said boldly. "Besides, my friends are currently releasing the antitoxins into the vents as we speak."

"Ahh Cisco. Hallucinations are merely just one way of invoking fear in subjects. But they are not the only way. Do you realize that your friends are all in danger, while you are spending your time speaking with me… impersonating the Batman. That man down there is not really Joe, but an associate of mine. They merely see him as the detective. Who knows what he is doing right now? Your friend Astrid is weak and bleeding out, very quickly!"

Cisco wasn't sure if the man was bluffing or not. He brought up his hands in an instant and shot at the Scarecrow, the vibrational blasts shot out from his hands and struck Jonathan Crane.

Though the Scarecrow disappeared, it was just another hallucination. Cisco heard him behind him. Just as Cisco turned, a large weapon was swung at him. He ducked and shot another projectile blast, this time sending Jonathan Crane backwards.

The costume that Cisco was fighting in was heavy, the cape was weighing him down. The Scarecrow came running for him and sprayed a fear gas into his face.

Cisco saw an image of his brother Dante being killed, it motivated him to stand up and shoot another projectile blast. The blast was endless and finally, on impact it rendered the Scarecrow unconscious.

Cisco ran and fetched a pair of handcuffs and cuffed the Scarecrow to the desk. He had done it. he had stopped Jonathan Crane.

"Er… Batman?" Sara said as she had arrived back into the office.  
"Nah, it's me Cisco!" he said with a smile, "Bruce sent me a message saying that Jonathan Crane has a fear of bats… so I thought this would do the trick."

"Yeah… I don't get what that girl sees in you… The antitoxin has been released, let's go find the others and be done with."

Just as Sara had spoken this, Cisco remembered the Scarecrow's words. "We need to get down there fast! Apparently, Joe isn't actually down there! It's someone else!"


	9. Chapter 9

Sara and Cisco made their way down to the lower floors to find Caitlin and Astrid both bound by power dampening handcuffs.

"Jonathan Crane is restrained upstairs. Sara released the antitoxin so we won't be suffering any more hallucinations… Where's Joe?" Cisco asked them as he began looking for the key to the cuffs.

"Cisco, Joe's not Joe! He's a speedster! He disappeared! Hey, what's with the Batman costume?" Astrid blurted out.

"Long story!" Cisco replied.

"A speedster? Like Barry?" Sara asked.

"Exactly like Barry! He said his name is Eobard Thawne!" Caitlin said.

"Eobard Thawne?" Cisco stopped dead in his tracks. He had heard that name one too many times in his visions. He saw the keys on the desk. But before he could get them, he received another vision, though this one seemed to take place in the near future.

In the vision, he saw a man, wearing a yellow suit, who addressed himself as the Reverse Flash. He restrained both Cisco and Sara. He only wanted Barry.

Then, just as the vision had appeared, it disappeared. "Sara, can you free the girls. Thawne is coming." Cisco said.

He looked at the clock on the wall. He had a minute left. He put up both his hands at the ready, aiming them at the door way. Then as the clock struck, Thawne appeared, just in time for Cisco to send a long blast of energy in his direction, hitting him on impact.

Sara had managed to remove the cuffs from Caitlin and Astrid, and raced over to the unconscious Yellow Speedster, cuffing him in place with the power dampening restraints.

"How the hell did you do that, Cisco? And what? Do we send this guy to prison… or?" Astrid asked. "Who is this guy, anyway?"

"I think this is the speedster who killed Barry's mom." Cisco said, he purposely avoided answering how he had done what he had just done. The girls noticed and didn't pester him about it.

"Okay, so we keep him in the pipeline. We ensure that Gideon doesn't let him out, and we wait for Barry to wake from his coma. I guess that he will be anxious to talk with the man, when he does." Astrid replied.

All four of them lifted the unconscious man and took him down to the pipeline. Astrid had Gideon seal him into one of the cells. "Well, I don't think he will be leaving anytime soon." Caitlin said.

The next morning, the group returned back to the 97th floor. Joe and a team of officers had retrieved Jonathan Crane along with the antitoxin the night before.

As Astrid sat in her office, she was alerted by a knock at the door. She smiled when she saw that it was Cisco. "Hey, is this a 'let's fool around' visit or a 'I have urgent news to discuss' visit?" she asked him.

Cisco walked in and sat down on the chair across from her desk, he had been reeling with his thoughts and he knew that he needed to talk them out.

Astrid was confused by his demeanor. She sat back in her chair and held his hands. "Cisco, is everything okay?" she asked him.

He looked up at her, as if he had just seen a ghost. "Mi amor, I need to speak with you… It's pretty serious…"  
Astrid's heart sank, whatever it was, for him to call her 'Mi amor' as opposed to Jedi, Boss or any other nickname, meant that it was something big.

She poured him a glass of water and pushed it towards him, but he didn't drink from it, instead, he looked as if he were trying to find the right words to use.

"Astrid, I have been getting visions… but they're not my usual visions… They're different. They're like memories, but I know that they have never happened." He said softly.

"Cisco, you get visions of the future. How is this any different?" she asked him.

"They're not like that. Do you remember when you got back from Star City a few months ago, and Barry was acting funny? I have been receiving visions that coincide with the things he was saying. And last night, I had a vision that I had powers… then I found out that I did…"

"This is about what happened with that yellow speedster last night, isn't it?" Astrid asked him.

"Yeah, but I did it before that too… It's how I managed to defeat the Scarecrow."

"Wow…"

"Astrid, can you do something that I generally wouldn't ask of you?" he asked her, hopeful.

"Cisco, you know that you can ask me anything. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to go through my mind. I think I'm going crazy. I need to know what memories are real and what aren't."

"Cisco, you know that you're asking me to read your mind. I will be able to see every one of your thoughts that you would prefer to keep hidden. I could even fry your brain." She told him, as she poured herself a drink.

"Astrid, I trust you more than anyone… and right now, I think I need you to do it. So please?"

Astrid took a sip of her water. "Okay, I'll do it!"


	10. Chapter 10

Astrid sat facing Cisco. They both closed their eyes and she began sifting through every thought and every memory in his mind. Most of the images were easy to retrieve, so far she couldn't find anything that seemed out of the ordinary. But then she sifted deeper into his mind.

She struggled a little, but like a lock box, she managed to open them, revealing a world of memories that she couldn't place. A series of different people, different events and even different dimensions. There were even dopplegangers. In this time, Barry had even discovered his mother's killer.

But as she struggled to keep the connection she saw events that she didn't relish seeing. She saw a lot of death. Cisco's death, her own death. She saw herself doing horrible things, killing people all in the name of the Lords of Chaos. She had even wished for the death of their friend Barry Allen.

She saw everything, she felt the overwhelming wave of emotions and as they became too much for her to bare, she severed the link. She was breathing hard, as if she had just run a marathon. She was exhausted. Cisco opened his eyes, just as she did.

He had clearly seen everything, just as she had. He was feeling the same fear and sorrow.

"Cisco… that was… that was unbelievable! I don't understand how any of that could have happened." She said after a moment.

Suddenly, the door to her office opened abruptly. Neither one of them got to their feet, they were still in shock at all that they had just seen.

Caitlin's voice wavered a little, "You guys… Barry's awake." Then just as she had said it, Caitlin disappeared again.

"I think," Cisco began, "that if anyone is going to be able to explain any of that… it'll be Barry. Maybe we should go and ask him."


End file.
